What happened this day in history January 8

What are the important events that happened on January 8? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

January 8: Facts & Myths About This Day

January 8 is the 8th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 357 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is December 26, 2024 – a Wednesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 1,736,294,400 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘octagon’ day.

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Capricorn is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Garnet is the modern birthstone for this month. Emerald is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 21 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,401 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

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January 8 Historical Events

  • 1297
    François Grimaldi, disguised as monk, leads his men to capture the fortress protecting the Rock of Monaco, establishing his family as the rulers of Monaco.
  • 1734
    Premiere performance of George Frideric Handel’s Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
  • 1780
    An earthquake of estimated magnitude 7.7 hits the city of Tabriz, Iran, killing about 80,000 people and causing major damage.
  • 1838
    Alfred Vail demonstrates a telegraph system using dots and dashes (this is the forerunner of Morse code).
  • 1863
    American Civil War: Second Battle of Springfield
  • 1889
    Herman Hollerith is issued US patent #395,791 for the ‘Art of Applying Statistics’— his punched card calculator.
  • 1962
    The Harmelen train disaster killed 93 people in the Netherlands.
  • 1975
    Ella T. Grasso becomes Governor of Connecticut, the first woman to serve as a Governor in the United States other than by succeeding her husband.
  • 1977
    Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
  • 2010
    Gunmen from an offshoot the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda attacked the bus carrying the Togo national football team on its way to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, killing three.

Who were born on January 8?

  • 1763
    Edmond Charles Genêt, French diplomat (d. 1834)
  • 1862
    Frank Nelson Doubleday, American publisher (d. 1934)
  • 1926
    Soupy Sales, American comedian (d. 2009)
  • 1942
    Valya Balkanska, Bulgarian folk singer
  • 1945
    Kojo Nnamdi, Guyanese-born American radio host
  • 1959
    Duk Koo Kim, Korean boxer (d. 1982)
  • 1965
    Michelle Forbes, American actress
  • 1971
    Mike Süsser, German chef
  • 1971
    Pascal Zuberbühler, Swiss footballer
  • 1972
    Giuseppe Favalli, Italian footballer

Who died on January 8?

  • 1337
    Giotto di Bondone, Italian artist (b. 1267)
  • 1456
    St. Lawrence Justinian, Italian bishop and first Patriarch of Venice (b. 1381)
  • 1464
    Thomas Ebendorfer, Austrian historian (b. 1385)
  • 1943
    Richard Hillary, Australian Spitfire pilot and author (b. 1919)
  • 1956
    Jim Elliot, American Christian missionary (b. 1928)
  • 1976
    Robert Forgan, British fascist (b. 1891)
  • 1981
    Matthew “Stymie” Beard, American actor (b. 1925)
  • 2002
    Alexander Mikhaylovich Prokhorov, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (b. 1916)
  • 2007
    David Ervine, Northern Irish politician (b. 1953)
  • 2009
    Richard John Neuhaus, Canadian-American Christian writer and editor (b. 1936)

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